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DnD 3.5 Ice Hockey

Preamble:
I was putting together a DnD Olympics game in tribute to the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics and someone pointed out that it ought to include an ice/snow themed game like Ice Hockey.

So, how would you go about building an ice hockey game out of DnD 3.5 rules? Play Testing Thread

Stuff So Far:

Items of the Game

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New Item: Ice Skates Cost: 75 gp
Anyone wearing skates gains a +10ft circumstance speed bonus when on ice. The bonus increases to +20ft when skating down hill, and drops to +0 when skating uphill. Anyone wearing skates on a surface other than ice may move at only half speed with no bonus.

Special Anyone with ranks in Perform (figure skating) or Profession (Ice Hockey) gains a +2 circumstance bonus on balance checks

New Item: Hockey Stick Cost: 50 gp
Exotic Double Weapon: Does 1d4 NonLeathal / 1d4 lethal
This weapon may be used to trip an opponent. If you are tripped on your own attempt you may drop the hockey stick instead.

Special: Anyone with ranks in Profession(Ice Hockey) may treat the stick as a martial weapon.
Anyone playing IceHocky without a hockey stick may only catch and maneuver the puck within their personal space, passes the puck at a 15ft range increment, and is never considered to threaten the puck unless the puck passes through their personal space.

Ice Hockey Mechanics

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This event is traditionally held in a rink, or an enclosed patch of ice. In real life this is traditionally 100ft wide and 200ft long, but some fantasy versions in your campaign world may be larger. The classic game pits two teams of 6 players against each other.

The central item of the game is a puck, which counts as a diminutive construct with a Dexterity score equal to the controlling player's Dexterity, When being moved the puck is assumed to occupy the same space as a the controlling players character and enjoy a +2 circumstance soft cover bonus from that player.

Intercepting: The controlling player may make a Profession(Ice Hockey) check to prevent the puck from suffering AoO as it is moved at the same DC as the tumble skill DCs. A character that threatens the puck may make a touch attack against it to take personal control of the puck.

Passing: The controlling player makes a ranged attack at a destination square, DC 5. The puck has a normal range increment of 30ft, and if the attack succeeds by 10 or more anyone not in the destination square takes a -5 penalty on checks to intercept or claim the puck. If the check misses use grenade rules to determine where the actual destination square is. The puck moves in a straight line to the destination square provoking AoO as it travels. If it reaches the designation square everyone within reach of the square makes opposed Profession(Ice Hockey) checks to claim it, with anyone in the destination square receiving a +5 bonus.

If when passed the puck passes through the personal square of character with a hockey stick that character gains a +2 bonus to intercept it.

Scoring: Scoring is done by passing into the goal, but the DC is 10, not 5. Anyone standing in front of the goal receives a +2 bonus on interceptions if they are the same size as the goal, or a +4 bonus if they are bigger than the goal. The goal is usually considered medium sized.

Rules of the Game

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Traditional Rules
No magic on the rink, no attacking your opponents, no grappling, no tripping etc.
Violating a rule results in spending 3-5 rounds in a penalty box or even expulsion from the game depending on severity.

Proposed DnD Olympic Rules
No magic on the rink. 5 round penalty per attempt. Team buffing between quarters is permitted.

Tripping is legal.

Holding (grappling) is legal for up to 1 round. Attempting to hold longer than this is grounds for a 3 round penalty.

No fighting.
Dealing NonLeathal damage receives a warning the first time each quarter and a 3 round penalty each additional time in a quarter.

Dealing Lethal or ability damage is grounds for a 5 round penalty.

Multiple penalties stack. For example, a magical effect that successfully immobilized an opponent for more than one round while dealing damage is an 13 round penalty.

Other Rules
While the mechanics are what makes the game go, the actual In Character rules are meant to vary from setting to setting and league to league. The classic rules proposed provide a highly structured relatively safe game, the Olympic Rules allow a limited rough-play and blood while saving the expense of casting Raise Dead between games. The orc frost-waste badlands where life is cheap, short, and sadistic might have a no-rule free-for-all variant.

When planning rules for your setting consider what the 'audience' is expecting and what the players are willing to risk.

Game Variants

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4 Team Variant
This is played in a 240 ft diameter circle with four teams and two pucks. Each team has 4 players. Scoring on an opponents goal is worth 2 points. Having someone score on your goal is -1 point.

Manager and Mooks
The player controls a mid to high level character who buffs and inspires an actual team of low level mooks from the sideline. Aggressive and flashy magic would likely be restricted while more passive and subtle spell and effects allowed.

Mechanics of the Olympic Version:
These are a suggested player line-up for a mid-level PBP game to put 12 athletes on a field when there are only 4-6 players and player characters.

Three players start each with a a L7 primary and a L3 NPC class minion (Or Two players each a L7 primary and two minions) to give teams of 6. Players may substitute cohorts or even animal companions for their allocated minion if they wish.

Re: DnD 3.5 Ice Hockey

I wonder who gave you that idea...

I'd like to state that I'm that someone, I'm very happy you ran with it, and at first glance I like what you've done with it too. I'd be tempted to see multiple optional rulesets, however, visavis stuff like whether spells are allowed etc.

Re: DnD 3.5 Ice Hockey

2) Is it possible to buy masterwork/enchanted hockey sticks, padded armour, or other such items?

3) Buffing between quarters etc. Does this have to be from a team member, or can it be from an outside source? e.g. might each team have a general buffer in the form of their manager?

4) Reserves/substitutes. How many?

-----

Alternative rules suggestion:

Make a single character who, for whatever reason, has access to at least 6 (8 with subs?) CR1 mooks. (Thrallherd, Necromancer, summoning druid, X with leadership abuse, etc.). Have them be the manager, and the rest be their team. They can buff, within some sort of limits, but cannot themselves play, and any spells etc. cast during play would have to be done with great subtlety.

Re: DnD 3.5 Ice Hockey

Originally Posted by dsmiles

I think you should go with real-life penalty times. 2 minutes for a minor and 5 minutes for a major. The rest looks great.

If this were to be full length then yes. Unfortunately real world Hockey lasts for about 1 hour total game time, or 600 rounds. Other people might enjoy the challenge, but I'd rather not play or DM a 600 round encounter round by round. That's why this proposed DnD version was shortened to 80 rounds. That's still a long time for tabletop gaming, but doable.

So if a 2 minute minor penalty is 1/30th of the game, then the 80 round equivalent would be 2.6 round, rounded up to 3.

I will take your suggestion on making a wider penalty range difference between minor and major penalties. Major penalties are now 5 rounds rather than 4 rounds.

Other Questions:
1) Mechanically I tried to design this to function at most levels, but yes. The proposed rule set had ECL 7 in mind. I figured it would be a special challenge to those interested to design an athlete that could compete effectively both in the rink and in the the Pentathlon games.

2) Sure. In the DnD world better equipment is always available. Some leagues may limit the equipment used.

3) For the moment the Olympic Hockey Tournament buffing must be done by one of the players on the team. Other leagues with other rules are free to do things differently.

4) Currently no provisions for substitutes are available, although an as yet undetermined amount of limited healing/dispelling will probably be provided for use between quarters.

3 & 4) I'm considering adding a L5 Adept support medic to each team. This Adept would stay out of the rink and provide supplemental buffs or curatives to the athletes.

As far as the players having a LX manager who buffs/directs/inspires a team of L1 or L2 mooks form the sidelines... nifty variant. I'll add it. Leadership could even be hand waved, and spell casting actually wouldn't have to be that limited if it was the entire point. True some restrictions (No Fireballs, walls of Iron, teleporting, etc) would have to be made, but otherwise the magic could be fairly open.

Re: DnD 3.5 Ice Hockey

This made me laugh. I know absolutely nothing about hockey (or just about any sport for that matter), so I can't help with balance in anyway.

However, I would like to point out something on the ice skate entry. With the current rules, a character can still move their normal speed when skating uphill. In real life, this doesn't work too well. I would suggest that the speed bonus becomes a penalty (10 to 20 feet?) when skating uphill.

Have you considered a lethal variant of hockey? The only permitted weapons would be hockey equipment and unarmed strikes, but the scoring rules would remain the same.

Re: DnD 3.5 Ice Hockey

Probably not going to get that many hills in the middle of an ice-rink, but fair point, all the same (for relatively steep gradients - I can still go faster than without in skates up a shallow gradient).

Re: DnD 3.5 Ice Hockey

Alright. How about:

New Item: Ice Skates Cost: 75 gp
Anyone wearing skates gains a +10ft circumstance speed bonus when on ice. The bonus increases to +20ft when skating down hill. Anyone wearing skates on a surface other than ice or attempting to skate uphill may move at only half speed with no bonus.

Special Anyone with ranks in Perform (figure skating) or Profession (Ice Hockey) gains a +2 circumstance bonus on balance checks.

Anyone with 5 or more ranks in Perform (figure skating), Profession (Ice Hockey),and/or Balance is not flatfooted when balancing/skating on ice.

Re: DnD 3.5 Ice Hockey

How about special abilities?

Skip Shot

By taking a -6 penalty to shoot the puck, interceptors and receivers both receive a -2 penalty to acquire the puck and the puck ignores one instance of cover (the first piece of cover blocking line of effect - all other cover still applies).

Snap Shot

Reduce the puck's range increment to 15ft. Cover bonuses are double, but the shooter receives a +4 to shoot the puck within the first increment.

Slap Shot

Increase the puck's range increment to 50ft but take a -2 penalty to shoot the puck. If the puck hits anyone, it deals lethal damage (1d6+ Shooter's Strength Modifier Bludgeoning, 19-20/x2) or non-lethal damage if they have +2 armor bonus or more.

One Timer

Ready an action to shoot the puck into the goal space immediately upon receiving it. Goalie has a -6 to intercept the puck, however they may still block it with a +2 modifier to AC (or AC of goal space).

Glove It

You may choose to attack the puck with your hand. If successful, you may make a dexterity check with a DC that's half the puck's AC. If successful, you are now holding the puck. You may take a swift action to drop the puck immediately upon catching it, in a space of your choosing so as to gain control of the puck (while holding the puck, you are also immune to having the puck taken from you by way of a hockey stick, however you can only hold the puck for one round before getting a penalty; additionally, you may not pass or move with the puck). A goalie's glove gives you a +4 equipment bonus to dexterity checks made to grab the puck, however a goalie is normally the only player allowed to equip this.

If the check is unsuccessful, use d20 modern grenade bouncing rules to determine where the puck rebounds too (and if you wish, roll another die and determine how many spaces it slides from that position within newly established line of effect). If you want, standard inert puck speed can be applied (5*1d10+Strength Modifier of last shooter ft.), wherein the puck slows by 5ft. each round until its speed reaches 0ft. or it is retrieved by another player.

Face Off

Upon face off, all players roll initiative (including those who face off). The two opposing players participating in the actual face off fight initially for the puck - this is done as a surprise round (doesn't matter if it isn't very surprising).

The face off players make opposed attack rolls - reflecting parrying sticks. One of the attack rolls must at least bypass the puck's AC (5 + size modifier) for one of these players to gain control of the puck. The winner gains control of the puck, and initiative order plays out as normal.

Goalie's GloveSimple ItemBenefit: Offers +4 equipment bonus to dexterity checks made to snatch the puck. As a goalie, holding on to the puck for at least 1 round is called 'freezing the puck' which provokes a face off upon that side of the rink. Non-goalies earn a penalty for holding on to the puck for at least 1 round.

Goalie's BlockerSimple ShieldBenefit: Goalie's Blocker provides a +1 to the wearer's AC. If the puck impacts the wearer, he may attempt a reflex save (DC equal to shooter's attack roll) to divert the puck in a direction of his choosing at a range increment of 15ft. Successful save indicates he may make an attack roll as normal as if shooting the puck at this range increment. Failure sends the puck rebounding, landing in a space as determined by grenade rules (and of course, it's a goal if it lands in the goal space).

Goalie's StickExotic Weapon
Damage: 1d4 nonlethal/lethal bludgeoning, 20/x2
Special: Offers a further +2 bonus to checks made to intercept the puck while standing on the goal line.

Goalie

If a goalie has at least 3 ranks in Profession (Ice Hockey) they may substitute their AC for the DC needed to pass through the goal line, as long as they remain upon the goal line.

Players may perform feints to force the goalie to be flatfooted towards them, among other tricks, etc.

The last addition is there to indicate that being a goalie takes at least some skill.

Leveling Up in Ice Hockey

Players that contribute towards a win gain XP. Players that level up as a result of this may choose not to gain HD, instead opting for special ice hockey related maneuvers. The amount of maneuvers they receive is 1d4*the number of ranks they have in Profession (Ice Hockey) divided by 5. Maneuvers, like Martial Adept Manuevers and feats, have prerequisites.

One Timer Charge [maneuver, hockey]Prerequisite: Must have performed at least five one timers in the past history of team participation in ice hockey games.

Upon readying an action to perform a one timer, you may perform one additional move action and swift action.

Break Away Brute [maneuver, hockey]
Prerequisite: Profession (Ice Hockey) 5 ranks, Must have acquired at least one 'hat trick' during one season

If you reach the opponent's zone while in possession of the puck, and there is nobody in this zone to oppose you but the enemy goalie, you and the goalie roll opposed initiatives. If you win, the goalie must now make a reflex save to act as the DC to shoot into the goal space and may not intercept the puck unless granted an attack of opportunity.

Alternatively, if your turn ends while you are in possession of the puck and in break away, make a Profession (Ice Hockey) check versus the dexterity check of whoever is next in initiative. If you win, you may act twice, as if it were the beginning of your turn again (effectively, no room for the enemy to respond to your break away).

Face Off Monkey [maneuver, hockey]Prerequisite: Have won at least 8 face offs in a single season.

You may ready an action prior to face off, and designate one other player to ready an action. If you win the face off, you may immediately perform this readied action (or 'chain' readied actions between you and another player before the round begins and the opposing team is allowed to respond).
------To OP - I suggest you read this. It's a pdf that's got all the rules (supposedly). It's 134 pages, which I assume means it goes into unnecessary detail, so read at your leisure.

Does anyone have a name for hockey maneuvers besides maneuvers? Tricks are already taken by complete scoundrel.

Re: DnD 3.5 Ice Hockey

Originally Posted by Psionic Dog

Alright. How about:

New Item: Ice Skates Cost: 75 gp
Anyone wearing skates gains a +10ft circumstance speed bonus when on ice. The bonus increases to +20ft when skating down hill. Anyone wearing skates on a surface other than ice or attempting to skate uphill may move at only half speed with no bonus.

Special Anyone with ranks in Perform (figure skating) or Profession (Ice Hockey) gains a +2 circumstance bonus on balance checks.

Anyone with 5 or more ranks in Perform (figure skating), Profession (Ice Hockey),and/or Balance is not flatfooted when balancing/skating on ice.

That looks good. What about using skates as improvised weapons? You can do some nasty damage with those things.

I could see someone in a quirky arctic setting developing a fighting style based on the use of skates. A feat or PrC would be necessary to make skates an effective weapon. Good requirements would be ranks in Balance, and(for the feat) a decent Str score (have you ever tried kicking someone with iceskates? They're heavy!).

Re: DnD 3.5 Ice Hockey

(have you ever tried kicking someone with iceskates? They're heavy!).

Not so heavy that you can't lift your foot or throw a slow kick and actually hurt someone severely (just make unarmed attacks lethal when kicking, like gauntlets, but do slashing damage). As for fighting with actual ice skates, make it a martial art (in D&D terms, a discipline).

I'd usually only include something requiring a STR score for anything 40 pounds or heavier or with heavy recoil (and if your larger than medium, it might not even apply until a considerably larger weight like 80 - 200 pounds, considering big people can lift more). Not to mention this stat system was based off the middle ages, so people are expected to be hard dudes.

Anyone with 5 or more ranks in Perform (figure skating), Profession (Ice Hockey),and/or Balance is not flatfooted when balancing/skating on ice.

Even young kids (like 13 year olds, not little kids) can skate with enough practice (that is, speed up, slow down, do 360s, jump even), and I would never consider them second level. Heck, I don't consider myself second level (have not accomplished nearly enough in my life). At the very least, make it require 4 ranks in profession ice skating, or make it 2 ranks, since my goalie armor requires only 2 ranks to be proficient with pads (which is quite hard in real life, just try being aware of everything at once while wearing that stuff).

Off topic: Other olympic sports? Basketball? Tennis (one that'd be convenient since it only needs 4 players maximum)?

Re: DnD 3.5 Ice Hockey

First, thanks for the link to the the official rules pdf. I'll see about putting together a [3.5]Ice Hockey v2.0 that is a little more reflective of the real world rules as I have time.

On Special Abuilities

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Snap Shot - I like it. If I ever get a 2.0 version out this will be included.

Skip Shot - The 'reduce cover' bit seems a bit awkward mechanically. How about: - By taking a -6 penalty to shoot the puck, interceptors and receivers both receive a -2 penalty to acquire the puck.

Slap Shot - I'll think about adding this one. If included it'll need a provision saying no damage is dealt if puck gets intercepted, the puck gains X AC bonus against interception attempts, slap shots can't be used to score... etc. At first glance that would make the slap shot ability more complicated than the passing description, a bad thing, so let me think a little longer on this one.

One Timer - Let's reduce the Goalie's interception penalty to -4 and I'll put this on the list of stuff to add to a rule-heave v2.0.

Glove It - Nice idea, good real world flavor, but no. For one, a failed check would have a 75% chance of preventing a goal. Instead, lets create a new ability called Blocking.

New: Blocking By declaring a blocking action when attempting to intercept a passed or shot puck character gains a +2 bonus on the check. On a success the blocking character does not gain possession of the puck but instead rolls a d6 die.
1-2: Puck stops in the square it was blocked at.
3: Puck moves 10ft back toward the passer/shooter
4: As a '1' on a grenade miss roll.
5: As a '2' on a grenade miss roll.
6: As an '8' on a grenade miss roll.

Face Off I Like. I'll add.

Goalie No. Substituting ones AC for the DC needed to pass through the goal line is both easily broken and counter intuitive. For one, if this was the case smaller goalies would be more effective at blocking shots on the goal since the smaller you are the higher your AC.

On Items

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With the revision of the proposed Glove It abuility these needed some changes.Goalie's Glove Light Exotic Weapon
Damage: 1d4 nonlethal.
Special: Goalie Exotic Weapons provides proficiency with both the Goalie Glove and Goalie Stick.
If proficient with weapon, welding the Goalie Gloves increases the blocking bonus to +4.

Goalie's Blocker
Functions as a small wooden shield, but anyone with at least 2 ranks in Profession(Ice Hockey) is automatically proficient with it. A Goalie's glove may also be worn on the same hand at no penalty.

Goalie's Armor - Lets just make this hide armor, but with more flavor.

Ice Skates
If anyone knows of stats for a Spiked Boot weapon I'll come up with something, but until then Ice Skates can be nothing more than an improvised weapon.

Leveling Up in Ice Hockey
I'd like this to stay as part of the 3.5 universe and not become a d20 spinoff, so no spending XP to gain bonus maneuvers. If we get a list of at least 6 balanced ones however I may add an IceHockey Mastery feat which would grant 2 hockey maneuvers every time the feat is taken.

Skating Flat Footed
I generality consider someone able to speed up, turn, and slow down with ease on ice as someone able to Take 10 on their balance checks for success, which anyone with a +5 modifier could do. Actively dodging attacks without risk of falling is something more.

Still, you may have a point. How about:
Special: A character may add their ranks in either Profession(Ice Hockey) or Perform(Figure Skating) when skating to their ranks in Balance to determine if they are flatfooted on ice.

While still not ready for intentional competition, this guy does have a +15 balance modifier and so will never fall (fail balance check by more than 4) while skating. Not even on a natural 1 while attempting accelerated movement.
(Other causes such as tripping, etc, may still cause him to fall)

Re: DnD 3.5 Ice Hockey

_Goalie's Blocker_
Functions as a small wooden shield, but anyone with at least 2 ranks in Profession(Ice Hockey) is automatically proficient with it. A Goalie's glove may also be worn on the same hand at no penalty.

In real life though, the Goalie's blocker is on the hand opposite the glove. The blocker is more like a buckler, I considered. It's also on the hand that hold's the stick (main hand).

For substituting goalie AC - how about, instead, reverse the size modifiers to AC? That way, being large grants a +1 size bonus to AC. This rule isn't necessary, but I want for their to be some means of applying skill to a goalie (otherwise any mook who's big and eats a lot can be a goalie).

Glove It - Nice idea, good real world flavor, but no. For one, a failed check would have a 75% chance of preventing a goal. Instead, lets create a new ability called Blocking.

I think I remember requiring that you had to touch the puck before you could make the dex check to catch it. Failing the dex check resulted in the 75% chance. But touching the puck still requires beating its AC. In hockey, interceptions and failed goal shots are common, so shooting a puck into a goal and provoking an AoO on the puck simultaneously should very likely not result in a goal. That's imo though.

EDIT: Just remembered that this would pretty much provoke AoO from the goalie every time (and with combat reflexes, you'd have a phenom), so nvm.

On slap shot: Slap shots have been known to get goals, although it is notably hard to precision aim the shot. Maybe make it easier to block a slap shot (resulting in damage; that's the idea) but harder to intercept?
I noticed some of the SRD rules already cover some hockey mechanics like...

I'd like this to stay as part of the 3.5 universe and not become a d20 spinoff, so no spending XP to gain bonus maneuvers. If we get a list of at least 6 balanced ones however I may add an IceHockey Mastery feat which would grant 2 hockey maneuvers every time the feat is taken.

I don't really think it goes out of universe considering how wide the universe is and the fact that it isn't just one universe (just creates more fragile skilled people), but... that's a good idea. Thanks for considering.

One final issue about that though, is that I wanted to allow for characters to adventure as well as play hockey (so you wouldn't have to have a character optimized for hockey but not run-of-the-mill dungeon spelunking).

That isn't really much different from the regular stick though. Maybe, penalty to shots and passes but bonus to blocks/interceptions in a certain situation (when prone, ie.; goalies in RL actually fall down which sometimes is an advantage to stopping the puck)?

Re: DnD 3.5 Ice Hockey

Ice Skates
If anyone knows of stats for a Spiked Boot weapon I'll come up with something, but until then Ice Skates can be nothing more than an improvised weapon.

Races of the Wild has this exotic weapon, although they are really bad as weaponry unless you fly (Raptoran) and are using two of them. And then they are still pretty bad imho.

EDIT: If you were to make ice skates a weapon, they would probably be an exotic weapon (ice skates are not a regular weapon that the classic fighter trains in), and deal at most 1d6 damage (akin to a shortsword). You would basically have to incorporate ice skates into a regular attack routine (possibly with ranks in jump and/or balance and/or flying) before anyone plays it from a crunch perspective.

Re: DnD 3.5 Ice Hockey

Races of the Wild has this exotic weapon, although they are really bad as weaponry unless you fly (Raptoran) and are using two of them. And then they are still pretty bad imho.

EDIT: If you were to make ice skates a weapon, they would probably be an exotic weapon (ice skates are not a regular weapon that the classic fighter trains in), and deal at most 1d6 damage (akin to a shortsword). You would basically have to incorporate ice skates into a regular attack routine (possibly with ranks in jump and/or balance and/or flying) before anyone plays it from a crunch perspective.

What would Brian Boitano do if he was here right now?....

Dude, the fighter hails from so many different parallel universes that there's gotta be at least one where he uses ice skates as a standard weapon. Also, ice skates are relatively simple, low tech, and not even all that difficult to use if you apply yourself.

So no, not exotic please.

EDIT: I also usually assume that any weapon a given fighter chooses to wield is a weapon that he happens to have trained in. Just because he is martially proficient doesn't mean he knows how to wield every weapon in the list equally well as the others. He choice to mostly go with a great sword (ie.) suggests that he's 'used to that weapon', as is the player, thus fluff-wise, that's among the smaller (non-mechanic) list of weapons he's well versed in. This helps reinforce the reason why fighters end up wielding only one or two different weapons throughout an entire campaign (if he happens to use a whole bunch of weapons in long term battle, then that's just adrenaline and warrior instinct working for him... fluff wise of course).

Re: DnD 3.5 Ice Hockey

Do players fall down? Yes. Yes they do.
A character with a +4 balance modifier has a 25% chance to fall over every time they attempt to move half speed, hit the puck, take damage, etc in a hockey game. (A hockey game is too intense to take 10)

Assuming the average player makes 2 balance checks a round there is a 43.8% chance that a player with a +4 balance will fall over in any given round. I believe that is more than sufficant to cover "Players, especially inexperienced players, should be able to fall down"

As for the rink size, behold!

A new improved rink to reflect real world accuracy. I thought for a while that the bigger rink would work better mechanically for a DnD version, but who am I to neglect the heart felt pleas of loyal hockey fans?

Anyway, that's what I've got so far. I'm still doing hockey research in my spare time in proportion to apparent forum interest to create both map markings and refine the rules to give the best compromise to realism and DnD playability.

Re: DnD 3.5 Ice Hockey

Interrupt Readied Action [Maneuver, Hockey]

If you are adjacent to an opponent with a readied action, roll a sense motive versus their bluff check. Should you succeed, you may act before they make their readied action, even if their initiative is higher than yours.

Off the Boards [Maneuver, Hockey]

You may fire a puck off the boards. While you have full control over the angle of deflection, it is given a -4 modifier to any angle, up to a maximum of 90 degrees. 70-90 degrees is the only exception this rule, which receives a -6 conditional penalty. For every additional bounce off the boards after the first one, the puck receives an additional -1 conditional penalty.

Normal: Something else happens when a puck bounces off the boards. Probably similar to bouncing off a player (although I don't know if it changes if the player ever attempts to deflect the puck somewhere when they can't get it with their stick in real life).

Pinballer [Maneuver, Hockey]Prerequisite: Must have made at least 10 goals using 'off the boards'

You can now customize the angle of deflection for every additional bounce off the boards (or another player, goal post, etc.) after the first. You also no longer receive a penalty for every additional bounce.

Normal: The deflection angle you give for 'off the boards' applies arbitrarily to every additional deflection that resulted from the shot.